Trying to Help
by MetaBlade
Summary: Nightmares were a thing he'd struggled with all his life and he was more than used to them, but she still held out hope that there was something - anything - she could do to help. (Oneshot)


**A/N: I'm on a roll! This isn't anything special, just a bit of sad (kind of)/fluffy (kind of) LuigiXDaisy that I wrote in my notebook last night. It's not connected to any of the games or any of my other stories.**

**(The POV might be slightly confusing, so I'll just say it here: the first two paragraphs are in Luigi's POV and then it shifts to Daisy's POV after that. I don't know how that happened.)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

It was the third night in a row that Luigi had been woken up by nightmares. He lay facedown on his bed, breathing hard into the pillow and trying to focus on something, _anything_ other than the hideous images still floating in front of his eyes.

It was lucky, perhaps, that he and Daisy were currently living together in Sarasaland; Daisy had invited him over for a few days since she had nothing else to do but had been forbidden from leaving the castle. He couldn't remember why; something about dangerous creatures being spotted on the road between here and the Mushroom Kingdom. Either way, Luigi had jumped at the chance to spend some rare time alone with her.

They were spending the nights in Daisy's royal bedroom, albeit not in the same bed. Though they'd been together for a while now, Luigi had admitted to not being quite ready for that and had flushed when Daisy winked and suggested it.

However, they _were _in the same room. And that meant that whenever Luigi woke up from another gut-wrenching nightmare, she invariably heard him. She always came running, even if she had only gotten an hour or two of sleep herself, and sat beside him on his bed until he calmed down enough to sleep again. This didn't always happen – sometimes the dreams were so bad that he'd give up sleeping altogether, going down to the castle kitchens to make himself some coffee instead. On those nights, Daisy lay awake for hours afterwards, listening to his footsteps dragging on the stairs and wishing she could do more to help him.

'You really should tell Mario about this,' she said as she gently rubbed his back, trying to take his mind off whatever nightmare he'd seen this time. His breathing hitched slightly, and she knew it was in response to her words. _'Why _don't you want him to know?'

'W-well... he has so much to worry about already... he works so hard to keep the kingdom safe and protect Peach. He doesn't need to be burdened with this too.' He gave a short, painfully fake laugh. 'My stupid problems.'

'This isn't stupid, Weegee. It's literally threatening your health.' Daisy rubbed her eyes tiredly, not wanting to mention that it was probably threatening hers too. She wouldn't sleep peacefully again until she knew he could. 'Seriously, just tell him. He's your brother. He's not going to consider it a burden to help you with something that's really bothering you.'

'I already told _you, _and it didn't make this problem go away,' he defended himself weakly. 'Why would telling Mario help?'

Daisy let her fingers trail upwards from his back to slowly comb through his scruffy hair (he didn't wear his cap to bed, of course). As she did this, she said thoughtfully, 'Well, maybe you need more than to just talk about it. Have you ever been to see a doctor? Maybe they could give you pills that would help.'

Luigi, who had begun to relax slightly, tensed up again. 'Not... really,' he admitted. 'I don't much like doctors.'

Daisy huffed out a sigh of exasperation, though she couldn't keep a tiny smile from forming at his nervous tone of voice. It was just so _like _Luigi to have a 'childish' phobia of going to the doctor.

'How about over-the-counter medicines, then?' she suggested. 'You know, stuff that you can buy in supermarkets.'

'Y-yeah, maybe,' he said, not sounding convinced. 'Actually, I already tried most of them before... they don't work. They work for a few nights, but then it wears off again.'

Daisy racked her brains. There had to be _something _she could do, something that might help even the smallest bit. If medicine didn't work, then she'd have to take an alternate route.

'Have you tried talking to someone about the dreams?' she said. 'I don't mean just telling them. I mean, actually sitting down with them and _talking.'_

'You mean-'

'What do you dream about?' she said, cutting him off. 'Is it something you're afraid of – or afraid of happening? Maybe talking through it with someone would help.'

He burrowed deeper into his pillow. At first she thought he wasn't going to say anything, but eventually he replied (in a muffled voice): 'I've... I've told Mario a little. Not... everything.'

'What parts have you told him, sweetie?' When Luigi stayed silent, she sighed again and added, 'You don't have to tell me, but I think you should. I know it might not help, but we should try everything, right?'

'You'll think I'm pathetic,' he muttered. 'Having these kinds of nightmares was normal when I was a kid, but I'm not a kid anymore. It's just stupid.'

'Has Mario told you that?' said Daisy, mentally preparing to take a warp pipe to Mario's house tomorrow and give him a stern talking-to, and maybe a punch on the nose.

'N-no,' said Luigi quickly, seeming to guess what she was thinking. 'It's just what I tell myself.'

'Then I think you're wrong.' She kept stroking his hair, as much to calm herself as him. 'I'd _never _think less of you, no matter _what _you were having nightmares about. It's not stupid at all, it's completely normal – and besides, it's not like you can choose what to dream about, right?'

'But it's silly to be afraid of these things,' he said softly.

Daisy watched him, waiting, but he didn't elaborate on that.

'Like I said, you don't have to tell me anything,' she replied. 'I'd have to be a really horrible person to try and force it out of you. But...' She poked him firmly on the shoulder with one finger. 'I'm gonna do everything I can to help you, OK? And I'm going to tell Mario about it too, if you don't. We'll work together to find a way to help. There's got to be _some _way...'

She trailed off, noticing that his breathing was starting to even out into the pattern of sleep. Realising he must finally be drifting off, she fell silent, not wanting to disturb him. But she didn't go back to her own bed; she'd stay here until he was asleep.

'Don't stop talking,' he murmured a few seconds later.

'Why? You need to get some sleep, Weegee.'

He hesitated. 'Yes, but... it's harder when everything's so quiet. I don't like the silence. C-could you keep talking? Just for a bit?'

If he had been more alert then he probably never would've asked such a thing, terrified of inconveniencing her. But, exhausted as he was, his inhibitions were significantly lowered.

Daisy gave him a quick smile that he couldn't see and ruffled his hair gently. 'Sure, sweetie. I warn you though, I'm not the best at storytelling,' she said teasingly. 'Shall I just talk you through the tennis match I played against Bowser last month? Not very interesting, but I know I can remember it all.'

'Sì... grazie, Daisy...' he mumbled, unconsciously slipping into Italian from how tired he was.

Daisy smiled again – this time a little sadly – and in a quiet, steady voice, began to talk.


End file.
